CANADA Canada - Louis Gonick, 21, UBC student, Vancouver, 16 April 2017

[Westcoast88]

Updates from CKNW reporter Jeremy Lye on twitter.

https://mobile.twitter.com/JJLye980?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

As per reporter above, got in taxi and asked driver to drop him off near Lions Gate Bridge.

 

[Snoopster]

Sounds like the press conference has concluded. (They didn't take questions?)

I'm not liking the fact that he asked to be dropped off near the bridge.

 

[Westcoast88]

Sounds like the press conference has concluded. (They didn't take questions?)

I'm not liking the fact that he asked to be dropped off near the bridge.

Same Snoopster, same. University is tough. Add in being away from family and a common age for mental health symptoms to begin showing face - I don't like this.

 

[dotr]

https://www.ubyssey.ca/news/rcmp-provides-update-on-investigation-of-missing-ubc-student/
By Samantha McCabe
April 27, 2017

Gonick’s last known location was the Stanley Park causeway, where he was dropped off by a taxi at 7:32 p.m. on April 16 at an emergency pull-off.The RCMP has searched areas including Stanley Park, the Lionsgate Bridge and the waters in the surrounding area. An extensive land and marine search has been conducted in partnership with departments including the Coast Guard, West Coast Marine Services, the Vancouver Police Marine Unit and Vancouver Port Authority.

We will continue to explore all avenues of investigation, including that Mr. Gonick may have chosen to disappear of his own accord or that he may have ended his own life,” said Linteau

.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/missing-ubc-student-louis-gonick-dropped-off-in-stanley-park-1.3386650
Darcy Matheson, Senior Digital Producer, CTV Vancouver
Video

Extended: RCMP update on missing UBC student

Investigators have also checked into Gonick's bank records and social media accounts, but to no avail.

"There's an emergency pullout not far from the actual bridge and that's where he was dropped off. He asked to be dropped off near that particular area," Linteau told reporters at UBC.

Authorities released a photo of Gonick in the cab, in hopes that people can help them piece together his movements before he went to the park.
"There was no indication this was going to occur and it was certainly out of character for him," said Linteau

Anyone with information about Gonick is asked to contact RCMP at 604-224-1322 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. The file number is 2017-1131.

 

[Miranda]

Oddly enough I'm somewhat optimistic after this. I'm local and every bit of that bridge is covered by cameras so if something happened there it seems LE would be aware. Is it just me or does it look like he's wearing a helmet? If so following the bridge would eventually land you in
West Van and from there there are plenty of Provincial parks (some of them huge) that could be accessed in less than an hour by bike. Maybe I'm being naive here but the idea of this young man sitting around a fire somewhere and blowing off his finals is actually quite plausible. Life can be overwhelming for all of us at any time. Very curious to know whether his bike was strapped onto the back of the taxi. I really hope I'm right on this one.

 

[dotr]

https://www.google.ca/search?q=louis+gonick&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV6vjqocXTAhUKzIMKHV4nCuIQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=659#imgrc=Obi4D--ogkztUM:


http://www.news1130.com/2017/04/27/family-makes-tearful-desperate-appeal-find-missing-ubc-student/

Gonick’s mother and other family members have flown to Vancouver from Ecuador — where he’s originally from — to make a plea for help to find him.

His mother wept openly as she tried to ask the public to find Gonick.
She also made a short statement to the media. “You are the greatest gift that life has given me. You live deep in the hearts of those of us who have the blessing of knowing you. Nothing and no one can replace you. Life has no meaning without you in it. And we are all counting the seconds to see your smile again. You’re the most loyal of friends and the best son a mother could imagine. From the bottom of our hearts we love you and we are waiting for you with our arms wide open. Please come back.”
RCMP say they’ve worked with local police to also search the waters near the Lions Gate Bridge, but haven’t found anything in relation to this case.

 

[Westcoast88]

Oddly enough I'm somewhat optimistic after this. I'm local and every bit of that bridge is covered by cameras so if something happened there it seems LE would be aware. Is it just me or does it look like he's wearing a helmet? If so following the bridge would eventually land you in
West Van and from there there are plenty of Provincial parks (some of them huge) that could be accessed in less than an hour by bike. Maybe I'm being naive here but the idea of this young man sitting around a fire somewhere and blowing off his finals is actually quite plausible. Life can be overwhelming for all of us at any time. Very curious to know whether his bike was strapped onto the back of the taxi. I really hope I'm right on this one.

Miranda, I really hope you are right too. I really, really do.

But IMO maybe there aren't as many cameras on the bridge as we think. Or maybe there are a few spots not caught by camera.

The reason I say this is thinking back to young mom Florence Leung who had a thread here. Her car was found near Prospect Point, very near the bridge. There were many searches in Stanley Park and surrounding area. Finally, they called off searching and soon after her body was found near Bowen Island. IMO they would have checked cameras on the bridge first, knowing she was suffering PPD. If they had seen anything the ground search likely wouldn't have happened.

I also think, with information from the taxi driver included in the press conference that we would have heard about a bike (if the taxi driver remembered).

This is all IMO and again Miranda I share your hopes.

 

[dotr]

Would the bridge be a common meeting place, perhaps for people on a first date, or to show a tourist to the city? speculation.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Lion...UICygC&biw=1366&bih=659#imgrc=g7GauFmsYdAgdM:

Lions Gate Bridge
​

 

[Westcoast88]

Would the bridge be a common meeting place, perhaps for people on a first date, or perhaps to show a tourist to the city? speculation.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Lion...UICygC&biw=1366&bih=659#imgrc=g7GauFmsYdAgdM:

Lions Gate Bridge​

Yes, maybe not the bridge in particular but the area of Stanley Park surrounding it.

I'm sorry if this has been posted but I wasn't able to find it - how long has Louis been in Vancouver?

 

[kmclaren]

Yes, maybe not the bridge in particular but the area of Stanley Park surrounding it.

I'm sorry if this has been posted but I wasn't able to find it - how long has Louis been in Vancouver?

I think this is his 3rd year at UBC. His facebook page says he started at UBC in Sep 2014...

https://www.facebook.com/lgonick

 

[Snoopster]

Here's a link to the full press conference.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=373266&playlistId=1.3387690&binId=1.1184694&playlistPageNum=1



That poor devastated mother. :cry:

 

[Snoopster]

No news about Louis today?
I am so hoping that this is solved soon. His poor mother broke my heart.
Imagine sending you son away to another country...no doubt bound for success. And then he simply disappears. Louis seemed engaged at school, with a recent visit to the London School of Economics, a trip to Colorado, a recent published article about the impact of Brexit, etc. This kid was going places. What happened??

 

[Normancita]

Bump!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dotr]

Hoping Louis is located soon, his Mom must be terribly worried, confused and sad not knowing what happened to her lovely young son.

 

[dotr]

https://www.ubyssey.ca/news/no-real-progress-made-in-month-since-gonick-disappeared/
May 25 2017

[h=1]No real progress made in month since Louis Gonick disappeared[/h]

Since he disappeared on April 16, UBC student Louis Gonick has been missing for over a month. Many parties are now involved in the search for him, but none seems to have made a significant breakthrough in this investigation.

During that press conference, Gonick’s last known location was clarified. He was last seen at the Stanley Park causeway after getting off a taxi at 7:32 pm on April 16.

A photo of him captured by the taxi cab surveillance camera was also included in the press conference’s handout.

As a result, the RCMP has conducted an “extensive land and marine search” at this location and the surrounding area within Stanley Park. The Coast Guard, West Coast Marine Services, the Vancouver Police Marine Unit and Vancouver Port Authority were also involved.

 

[Tripplogan]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/recent-stanley-park-attacks-on-2-men-ring-alarm-bells-in-vancouver-s-lgbt-community-1.3973237

I wonder if there is any connection to Louis's case.

 

[LadyL]

does anyone else get a creepy feeling like as in the Yingying Zhang case that this could be another student or teacher or someone affiliated with the school - I'm not insinuating anyone in this photo is suspicious ... just struck me when I saw it

https://www.ubyssey.ca/news/rally-held-for-missing-student-louis-gonick-/
By Moira Wyton
April 24, 2017

 

[Satchie]

Stanley Park is a big place, as big as the whole of downtown Vancouver. The murder happened on the west side of the park, on the seawall walkway. You'd get there by either walking or driving from the West End residential neighbourhood. There's a quiet road that encircles the park, so it passes all the park amenities like restaurants, viewpoints, parking lots, major trails, the aquarium, etc.

Then there's the busy causeway that funnels traffic from the commercial downtown, to the north end in order to cross the Lion's Gate bridge. The quiet Stanley Park drive passes over top of this highway. I don't know where exactly the emergency stop was where the taxi let him out, but if you were intending to go somewhere in Stanley Park, that'd be probably the worst way to do it. It would only make sense to get off there if you wanted to walk to the bridge. It was about an hour before dark.

People do like to view the bridge and views and take photos, etc, but it's also the most popular suicide spot in Vancouver. Bodies might not always be found, there are tides, the bridge is very high to let ships pass under. Seems to me, reading between the lines, this is the police theory. His age is also a factor, tragically a high risk time of life for being, perhaps, suddenly overcome with despair and not being able to ask for help. For eg, a failed love affair, anxiety about school and career, etc. There was talk a few years ago about a mysterious spate of missing young men in Vancouver, when I followed up the cases, almost all had been eventually found and were ruled suicides.

 

[Hazel]

On Monday, RCMP learned that the student took a taxi to Stanley Park on April 16, asking to be dropped off near the Lions Gate Bridge.

"There's an emergency pullout not far from the actual bridge and that's where he was dropped off. He asked to be dropped off near that particular area," Linteau told reporters at UBC.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/missing-ubc-student-louis-gonick-dropped-off-in-stanley-park-1.3386650

says they have learned that on April 16, Gonick called a local taxi company and was dropped off in Stanley Park. She said Gonick asked to be let out specifically near the bridge turnout.

Linteau says Gonick’s last known whereabouts was when he was dropped off near the Stanley Park Causeway at 7:32 p.m.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3408851/ubc-exchange-student-louis-gonick-has-been-missing-almost-2-weeks/

North end of Lions Gate Bridge, looking south.

Stanley Park Causeway at Stanley Park Entrance, looking south. (elevation: 5 metres)

North end of Lions Gate Bridge, looking north.

more CAM images at link: http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/18.html

 

[Hazel]

There may be some new information on this case. Unfortunately I'm seeing this posted on Reddit (r/ubc) and on the UBC Ecuadorian Students Association page on Facebook so it has to be taken as rumor. I'm going to keep following but I'll reserve my comments till LE or MSM have something that can corroborate what I've seen this afternoon.

rsbm

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/recent-stanley-park-attacks-on-2-men-ring-alarm-bells-in-vancouver-s-lgbt-community-1.3973237

I wonder if there is any connection to Louis's case.

First time I hear about this case. I have a couple of theories just by reading what's been reported by MSN and his FB page. Thank you Hotmud62 for the reddit comment, I'll try and see if I can find the thread.
Thank you for the link Tripplogan, I too was thinking the same when I saw the picture of LG in the pink shirt. It could be 100% wrong,